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About Me

I am a master planner and a self-professed book dragon. As the Launch and Operations Specialist at Author Accelerator, I work to help authors achieve their dream of completing a book. In my spare time, I read and review books.

Tag: fandoms

I discovered the Harry Dresden books in about 2004. I was wandering the stacks of my local public library, feeling a little disaffected. A lifelong sci-fi and fantasy fan, over the previous decade I had largely fled the genre, diving into mysteries, police procedurals, and action thrillers. You might say I traded Harlan Ellison for Harlan Coben. But I still checked out the Sci-Fi section, in the hopes that something new and interesting might strike my fancy. On this particular day, I noticed four books in what was obviously a series, called the Dresden Files. Always a sucker for anything I could enjoy longer than the week it takes to finish most single novels, I read the back cover. Hmm, I remember thinking, The only wizard listed in the Chicago phone book… Promising. Laurel K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison had come up during my self-imposed exile from Fantasy, so this was my first exposure to what I would later learn was called Urban Fantasy. Grafting the supernatural world onto the private eye motif sounded like fun, so I grabbed all four books and was off to the races. I still go back and re-read the series from the start every […]

This weekend’s posts are brought to you courtesy of ICON 40. I will be a panelist or moderator on several panels throughout the weekend. A couple of those panels are related to blogging or fandoms and I wanted to create a quick reference post for others to use after the event. ICON, a Mindbridge Foundation Project, is Iowa’s longest-running, fan organized science fiction and fantasy convention. Each convention features authors, artists, panels and workshops, parties, an art show, dealers room and more! ICON 40 is being hosted at the DoubleTree Hotel and Convention Center in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This year’s guest of honor include David Gerrold, Sarah Clemens, Ann Leckie, Kalli McCandless and Jim C. Hines. All Things Outlander | My Fandoms Panelists: Amanda Alexander, Tara Tolly, Terri M. Panel Description: If you dream about being whisked away to Scotland circa 1743, you should join your fellow Sassenachs for this discussion about all things Outlander. The Times I’ve Posted about Outlander on Second Run Reviews Book Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon—Outlander is a book that is near and dear to my heart. It is responsible for kicking off my adult reading life thanks to a suggestion from a co-worker […]

Scenic Sundays was inspired by the last couple of minutes on CBS Sunday Morning and was created in part to help encourage me to share more of my photography. View this quote on flickr. “If you love what you do and are willing to do what it takes, it’s within your reach. And it’ll be worth every minute you spend alone at night, thinking and thinking about what it is you want to design or build. It’ll be worth it, I promise.” Steve Wozniak Inspire others! Click to tweet: I was inspired by this week’s Scenic Sunday at @2ndRunReviews. #BeInspired today. http://ctt.ec/9BP1Q+ Twitter 5 Facebook 0 Google+ 0 Pinterest 2 StumbleUpon 0